Did Steve Kerr just start his Warriors goodbye? He sounds ready for anything

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And the greatest coach in Golden State’s history, the leader of a dynasty that changed basketball, loosened his grip. Spiritually. Emotionally. Kerr uncurled his fingers and let this gem he’s held for 12 seasons rest on his palms. Free to leave. Free to stay. He seems fine either way. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Kerr said after the Warriors’ Play-In Tournament loss Friday. “I still love coaching, but I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date. There’s a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas and all that.” The coach who loathes talking about himself went an entire season shunning questions about his contract situation after he and the Warriors failed to reach an agreement on an extension. Kerr pushed talks to the offseason, essentially volunteering to be a lame duck. And as soon as the season ended, he invited the spotlight with a public embrace of his potential departure. In that sense, the Warriors seemed to lose more than a spot in the playoffs. Because Kerr setting the stage for his departure underlined the doubt that crept in with this tumultuous season. This time, they didn’t end a campaign with a defiant anticipation for the next one. On Friday, they didn’t sound like a champion merely between titles. Kerr, Steph Curry and Draymond Green sounded like they’ve been chasing a fifth ring for four straight years and realized it hasn’t gotten closer. Their valiance kicked in, prompting them to go down swinging, and wound up salvaging something out of this season. But they sounded like franchise pillars who couldn’t escape the sobering revelation of this season, which ended at the hands Jordan Ott, Jalen Green and Jordan Goodwin. Chasing the shadows of their own statues landed them in the Play-In Tournament three straight years. Monuments among the marginal. “Before you win the title,” Curry explained, “… you’re building the foundation for what a championship team looks like — even though you have no idea what that really meant. Then you accomplish it, then everything else is based off of that. It’s been that way since 2015. I think we can reshape the narrative, knowing in the back of our mind that (a title) is an ultimate goal. But we have to get back to the basics of what makes a good basketball team, a competitive basketball team every single night. … “Can we rethink how we do things with the foundation that we’ve established? We don’t have to keep saying ‘championship, championship, championship’ every day, even though we’ve experienced that. Can we build the foundation again with what this team needs to do, with the way that the game is played now, how fast it is, how young and athletic it is?” The question Kerr posed was whether he is the coach for such a refocus. The question isn’t for him to answer. He laid that at the feet of general manager Mike Dunleavy and owner Joe Lacob. But also clear was Kerr’s standard for what he’ll accept. It was hidden behind the corporate speak — “same page” and “alignment” and “collaborative.” But Kerr has to like what he hears. And if he doesn’t, he’s secure enough to say goodbye. That’s one of his superpowers. Desperation doesn’t get a voice in his decisions. Kerr’s contentment won’t allow it. After four championships, 604 wins and a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, Kerr can walk away. “I don’t want to think about that,” Green said of Kerr’s potential exit. “I hope that’s not the case, but we’ll see what happens.” A cynic would call this a masterful negotiation tactic by Kerr. The BATNA strategy — the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement — suggests walking away is the most advantageous course of action when a deal can’t be reached. But we know enough about Kerr to know he probably means this. The perspective advocate himself is much more likely to truly come to terms with his tenure than tug the heartstrings of his players for a few extra million dollars. This certainly fits his ethos. Finding peace in the truth and beauty in struggle. Two nights after he celebrated the Warriors’ Play-In win over the L.A. Clippers like a signature triumph, Kerr savored what might’ve been his last moment as Golden State’s coach. His preemptive goodbyes, his soaking up of the possibility of finality, came with a smile of a man fulfilled. He understands the past isn’t entitled to the future. That love doesn’t come with ownership deeds. And success should produce a security that doesn’t take hostages. Kerr said he will sit down with Dunleavy and Lacob in the next week or so and discuss the future. Everything is on the table. Including Kerr’s departure. Multiple sources in the locker room said they still expect Kerr to return. His salary figures to be upwards of $20 million per year. Curry is still on the team. And Kerr is as open to change as ever. So while he clearly wants something from Warriors management, Kerr is open to adaptation. Plus, who will coach this team? No anointed successor is waiting in the wings. Who replaces Kerr would affect the Warriors’ personnel movement in the offseason. Kerr made it clear he wants to keep coaching. And wants to coach the Warriors. He doesn’t want to leave one of the greatest players ever. “I don’t want to walk away from Steph,” Kerr said. “I’m definitely not going and coaching somewhere else next year in the NBA. I would never walk away from Steph. But all this stuff has to be aligned and right.” But Kerr was equally convincing that he’s prepared to never coach Curry and the Warriors again. A resolution that prompted him to tell Curry and Green he loved them and thank them for the talent and commitment they put into his hands. “I was kind of fighting it, to be honest,” Curry said. “You’ve ended your season a lot of different ways, and you’ve had those moments on the sideline where you go up and down and thank everybody for what they poured into the year. But for it to start with that conversation and that moment, it was definitely weird. … I do appreciate the fact that he took that moment because, regardless, we’re human beings, and we have to be able to acknowledge each other in that moment.” Kerr’s departure would be a natural catalyst for an overhaul. It stands to reason part of his discussion with Dunleavy and Lacob will be philosophical. Style of play. Type of players. Emphasis of offense. Those answers directly impact the current players. Does Kerr’s departure, and an altered approach, render Green less valuable? Does Jimmy Butler want to come back? Will Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos and De’Anthony Melton be productive in a different system? If you expected Curry to offer a full-throttled plea for Kerr’s return, or even a vehement declaration of his preference for Kerr, it didn’t happen. “I want coach to be happy,” Curry said. “I want him to be excited about the job. I want him to believe he’s the right guy for the job. I want him to have an opportunity to, again, enjoy what he does. Whatever that means for him. … He knows how I feel about him. That shouldn’t even need to be said. However it goes, you’re thankful for what we’ve been able to accomplish over this run.” Curry isn’t one to flex his muscle through microphones. He’d much rather share his thoughts with Dunleavy and be in on the process than influence it from the outside. But Curry also understands the solution isn’t just running it back. Auntie Change is tapping the Warriors on the shoulder. And once the need for change is accepted, reason demands all change be vetted before being rejected. That’s why the tone rang different after this latest elimination. They know the injuries that killed this season also threaten the next one. They know time is hatin’ on their ambition. They know the league’s style — stack the roster with athletes, spread out and attack — can’t be so easily countered with passes, cuts and misdirection. The Warriors’ legends, who assumed the responsibility of answering for this latest disappointment, seemed to have already processed the necessity of their reinvention. Perhaps Kerr’s glee over their gutsy win over the Clippers was born of their quiet acceptance of this possible end. Maybe he called them champions for a day because he knew all along it might be the last day they’ll be champions. At least with him at the helm. “I will be just nothing but grateful for the most amazing opportunity any person could have to coach this franchise in front of our fans in the Bay,” Kerr said. “And to coach Steph Curry and coach Dray and the whole group. So it may still go on. It may not. I don’t know at this point. But we all need to step away a little bit and then reconvene.” Free to leave. Free to stay. He seems fine either way. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Marcus Thompson II is a lead columnist at The Athletic. He is a prominent voice in the Bay Area sports scene after 18 years with Bay Area News Group, including 10 seasons covering the Warriors and four as a columnist. Marcus is also the author of the best-selling biography "GOLDEN: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry." Follow Marcus on Twitter @thompsonscribe